How To Report A Car Accident In Hollywood, Florida

Getting into a crash can leave you shaken, confused, and unsure of what to do next. Whether the accident happened on Hollywood Boulevard, near I-95, along Sheridan Street, or close to Hollywood Beach, knowing how to report the accident properly can help protect your health, your records, and your potential injury claim. If you were hurt in a crash, Barzakay can help you understand your next steps after a vehicle accident in Hollywood, Florida.

In Florida, some crashes must be reported to law enforcement right away. Even when a crash seems minor at first, it is often safer to document the accident properly, especially if you later develop pain, need medical care, or have to deal with an insurance company.

When Should You Report A Car Accident In Hollywood, Florida?

You should report a car accident immediately if anyone is injured, someone is killed, a driver leaves the scene, there may be impairment involved, a vehicle needs to be towed, a commercial vehicle is involved, or the crash appears to involve significant property damage.

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, drivers must notify law enforcement and stay at the scene for crashes involving injury, death, hit and run, DUI, a vehicle requiring a wrecker, a commercial motor vehicle, orany apparent property damage, regardless of the estimated amount. Under Fla. Stat. § 316.065(1), Florida law requires drivers involved in any crash causing injury, death, or property damage to immediately report the crash to law enforcement. A separate obligation under Fla. Stat. § 316.066 requires a written driver crash report to be submitted to FLHSMV within 10 days when no officer investigated and property damage meets or exceeds $500 — but this is a distinct, additional requirement, not the threshold for calling police. . You can review the state’s reporting guidance through the official FLHSMV traffic crash reports page.

In Hollywood, calling 911 is the safest option if there are injuries, blocked traffic, a serious collision, or any immediate safety concern. If the crash is less urgent but still requires police assistance, you can contact the Hollywood Police Department’s non-emergency line.

What To Do Immediately After A Crash

Your first priority should always be safety. If you can move your vehicle without putting yourself or others in danger, pull over to a safe nearby location. Turn on your hazard lights, check yourself and passengers for injuries, and call 911 if anyone needs emergency medical help.

When officers arrive, give them accurate information, but avoid guessing or admitting fault. It is fine to explain what happened, where the vehicles were, and what you observed. However, statements like “I’m sorry” or “I didn’t see them” may later be used against you by an insurance company.

The legal stakes behind this advice are significant under Florida’s current law. Prior to March 24, 2023, Florida followed pure comparative negligence — meaning a plaintiff could recover damages even if found 99% at fault, with recovery simply reduced proportionally. HB 837 eliminated this standard entirely.  Under HB 837 (effective March 24, 2023), Florida now follows a modified comparative fault system under Fla. Stat. § 768.81. If you are found to be 51% or more at fault for the crash, you are completely barred from recovering any damages from the other driver — even if they were also negligent. If you are 50% or less at fault, your damages are reduced proportionally by your share of fault. Insurance adjusters are fully aware of this threshold and will use early statements, apologies, and admissions to push your fault percentage above 51%. Every statement made at the scene or to an insurer can affect this calculation. 

You should exchange information with the other driver, including names, phone numbers, driver’s license information, insurance details, license plate numbers, and vehicle descriptions. If there are witnesses, politely ask for their contact information as well.

If you are physically able, take photos and videos of the scene. Capture vehicle damage, skid marks, traffic signals, road conditions, debris, visible injuries, and the surrounding area. These details may become important if the other driver changes their story later.

If you notice any security cameras at nearby businesses, intersections, parking garages, or gas stations, act on that information immediately. Surveillance footage in Florida is typically overwritten within 24 to 72 hours. A written preservation demand — addressed to the business or government entity operating the camera — should be sent as soon as possible to trigger a legal duty to preserve the footage. An attorney can send this demand on your behalf within hours of being contacted. Once footage is overwritten without a documented preservation demand, it is almost always gone permanently and cannot be recovered through litigation. 

How To File Or Obtain A Police Report In Hollywood

If the crash happened within the City of Hollywood, the Hollywood Police Department generally handles accident records for incidents inside city limits. The city’s official FAQ states that accident reports for events occurring in Hollywood are handled by the Hollywood Police Department, and records can be requested online through the city’s Police 2 Citizen portal.

You can also review accident report request information through the official Hollywood Police Records Unit. This page explains that accident reports can be requested through the city’s online records system and may also be available through the Florida Crash Portal.

If your crash was investigated by another agency, such as the Florida Highway Patrol or Broward Sheriff’s Office, you may need to request the report through that agency or the Florida Crash Portal instead.

What If The Accident Was Minor?

Some minor crashes may qualify for a driver self-report instead of a law enforcement crash report. This usually applies when the crash does not involve injury, death, hit and run, DUI, towing, a commercial vehicle, or the level of damage that requires law enforcement notification.

However, many drivers underestimate the seriousness of a crash at the scene. Pain can appear hours or days later, and vehicle damage can be more expensive than it looks. If there is any doubt, it is usually better to contact law enforcement and have the crash properly documented.

A formal report can help establish when and where the crash occurred, who was involved, what the officer observed, whether any citations were issued, and whether any witnesses were identified.

Why The Accident Report Matters For Your Claim

A car accident report is not the entire case, but it can be an important starting point. Insurance companies often review the report when deciding how to handle a claim. The report may include details about the drivers, vehicles, insurance information, crash location, road conditions, injuries, witnesses, and contributing factors.

Understanding Florida’s no-fault insurance system is essential to knowing what your claim can recover. Under Fla. Stat. § 627.736, Florida requires drivers to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, which pays 80% of reasonable medical expenses and 60% of lost wages up to $10,000 — regardless of who caused the crash. However, under Fla. Stat. § 627.737, you can only pursue the at-fault driver directly for pain and suffering and damages exceeding PIP limits if your injuries meet the tort threshold: a permanent injury, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. Whether your injuries meet this threshold is one of the most important early legal questions in any Hollywood car accident claim. 

If you were injured, the report can help connect your injuries to the crash. It may also help your attorney investigate liability, request evidence, communicate with insurers, and identify whether other parties may be responsible.

This is especially important in Hollywood, where crashes can happen on busy roads, near tourist areas, in parking lots, around intersections, and along major traffic corridors connecting Hollywood to Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Dania Beach, Pembroke Pines, and other parts of South Florida.

Common Mistakes To Avoid After Reporting A Crash

After you report the accident, be careful with what you say and do next. Insurance adjusters may contact you quickly, and their goal is often to limit what the company pays. You do not have to give a recorded statement before understanding your rights.

Avoid these common mistakes:

• Leaving the scene before the crash is properly handled
• Failing to get medical care after pain or symptoms begin
• Not taking photos of the scene and vehicle damage
• Admitting fault or guessing about what caused the crash
• Posting accident details on social media
• Accepting a quick settlement before knowing the full extent of your injuries

Even if you believe your injuries are minor, it is critical to get checked by a medical professional — and in Florida, timing is not just advisable but legally significant. Under Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)(a), you must receive initial medical care within 14 days of the crash to access PIP benefits. If your treating provider determines you have an emergency medical condition (EMC), PIP covers up to $10,000 in medical benefits. If your condition is deemed non-emergency, coverage is capped at $2,500. Waiting beyond 14 days forfeits PIP benefits entirely, regardless of how serious your injuries later prove to be. . Some injuries, including neck, back, shoulder, knee, and head injuries, may not feel serious right away.

Know Florida’s Filing Deadline

Florida law imposes a strict deadline on car accident injury claims. Under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(a), as amended by HB 837 effective March 24, 2023, injured accident victims have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. This replaced the prior four-year period. For wrongful death claims, Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(d) provides a separate two-year period running from the date of death — not the date of the crash. Where a victim survives the crash but dies later from their injuries, the wrongful death limitations period does not begin until the date of death, which may be days, weeks, or months after the accident. Family members pursuing wrongful death claims should calculate their deadline from the death date and get legal guidance promptly to ensure the correct deadline is identified.  Missing this deadline permanently bars recovery regardless of how strong your claim is. Do not assume you have time to spare — get legal guidance well in advance of your deadline.

Florida accident victims should also be aware of another significant HB 837 change affecting damages. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.0427, recoverable past medical expenses in Florida personal injury cases are now limited to the amounts actually accepted by healthcare providers as full payment — typically negotiated insurance rates — rather than the higher amounts originally billed. This change applies to all crashes occurring on or after March 24, 2023 and can substantially reduce the medical expense component of your claim. Keep records not only of amounts billed but also of actual payments and insurer adjustments, as the difference between billed and accepted amounts directly affects your damages calculation. 

When To Contact A Hollywood Car Accident Lawyer

You should consider speaking with a lawyer if you were injured, the other driver is blaming you, the insurance company is delaying your claim, the crash involved a commercial vehicle, the other driver was uninsured, or you are being pressured to settle.

Florida’s insurance requirements make UM/UIM coverage especially important for Hollywood accident victims. Under Fla. Stat. § 324.022, Florida only requires drivers to carry PIP and property damage liability — bodily injury liability coverage is not mandatory. Florida’s mandatory minimums are among the lowest in the country: $10,000 in PIP coverage and $10,000 in property damage liability under Fla. Stat. § 324.021(7). These amounts are frequently insufficient for serious injuries, and the absence of any mandatory bodily injury liability requirement means a large percentage of Florida drivers carry no coverage at all for injuries they cause to others. This means many Florida drivers carry no coverage for injuries they cause to others. Under Fla. Stat. § 627.727, your own insurer must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, though you may have waived it in writing. Check your own policy immediately after any crash — if the at-fault driver has no bodily injury coverage, your UM/UIM policy may be your only meaningful source of compensation beyond PIP limits. 

Legal help is also important if road conditions — such as a dangerous intersection, malfunctioning traffic signal, pothole, or inadequate signage — may have contributed to the crash. Claims against Florida government entities including FDOT, Broward County, or the City of Hollywood are governed by the Florida Tort Claims Act, Fla. Stat. § 768.28, which requires written notice of the claim to the relevant agency and caps recoverable damages at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence unless a legislative claims bill provides for more. Identifying government entity liability early is critical, as missing the notice requirements can permanently bar recovery against that defendant. 

Attorney Big Al helps injured people in Hollywood and throughout Florida after serious car accidents. The team can review the accident, help obtain the crash report, deal with the insurance company, and explain what compensation may be available for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses.

Get Help After A Car Accident In Hollywood, Florida

Reporting a car accident in Hollywood, Florida starts with protecting your safety, calling law enforcement when required, documenting the scene, and requesting the accident report through the proper agency. Once the report is filed, your next steps can affect your injury claim and your ability to recover fair compensation.

If you were hurt in a Hollywood car accident, Hurt123 is ready to help. Contact Barzakay and the team today for a free consultation.